Mmmm…that feeling of warm water pouring down on you and washing over your skin. Oh, how I love that feeling!
Most people I know and work with jump into the shower to start their day. Showering is part of most people’s morning hygiene routine and how they wake up. It happens almost on auto-pilot. Just like eating or brushing your teeth… it becomes an unconscious activity.
What if you could anti up your time in the shower and add in some healthy habits to your morning routine? Think of it as an effective use of time. A two for one kind of deal.
Here are my 3 healthy shower hacks to contribute to your overall health:
Be present!
Sounds simple… and it can be, with practice. Here’s what can you do; when you’re in the shower, BE in the shower.
While your body is definitely in the shower, where is your mind and your focus? This is often a time when your mind can wander. You may feel like showering is so trivial that you don’t need to be fully engaged when cleaning your body.
You may find that your mind wanders to the future, to what you have to do, where you have to be, how things will unfold, or play out the future in your mind. Conversely, your mind may venture to the past, to what you did, where you were, who you were with or what you wish you’d done or said, reliving the past that you cannot change.
This simple step is merely being conscious and keeping your mind and focus in the present moment.
Have you ever gone without showering for a couple of days and then indulge in to that simple pleasure at long last? Oh, how that feeling seems like the best thing in the entire world. A simple shower turns into something beautiful and maybe even sensual. You become super aware of how good it feels to have water touching your skin. You bathe it the luxury of something that seems so simple. Why is a simple shower now so enjoyable? Likely because you’re fully present to the experience.
If you heighten your senses and stay aware of them each time you step into your shower, you can make showering a meditation and a luxurious experience. What? Mediate in the shower? Yes, a meditation, in the shower! The meditation IS the shower experience.
Meditation is simply the practice of being fully present and being in the moment. Having a relaxed focus of attention or awareness.
How you can make your shower a meditation is by noticing all the small subtle nuances that happen from the moment that you turn the tap on. Notice the temperature of water, the temperature of the air. Notice your feet planted on the floor of the shower. Notice the sounds around you. The sound and feeling of water pouring down on your body and on to the shower floor, the aroma of what you use to clean your body and hair. The feel of the lather of soap on your skin and hair. Notice your hands gliding over your body. Take a moment to appreciate each part of your body that you wash, giving it some love and gratitude as you touch it. Connect your mind to your body.
This simple practice of awareness is the true definition of meditation… Being fully present in each moment.
While it’s helpful to learn how to quiet the mind by sitting in one place, you don’t have to sit in a chair for 20 minutes to get the benefits of meditation. I’m suggesting you can take your meditation into the shower.
Contrast Showers
This is an ancient practice of vacillating between hot and cold water. Another simple practice to get enormous health benefits while you’re in the shower.
What you do:
- Start with a warm or hot shower
- Turn the tap to the coldest you can handle for about 30 seconds
- Then turn the tap back to warm/hot for another 30 – 60 seconds
- Continue this cycle between hot and cold 3 – 4 times
- End the shower on the cold cycle. I know it may sound horrible, but this is where the magic happens so this step is uber important
You’ll likely find in time, the level of cold that you can handle increases as will the length of time that you can endure the cold cycle. In fact, I’m willing to bet that you’ll crave the cold water after about a week of doing contrast showers.
The benefits of contrast showers are many. Here are a few worth noting:
- burns fat
- increases circulation
- aids in detoxification
- helps relieve depression
- helps balance hormones
- improves immune function
- increases energy, reduces lethargy
If you don’t have time to cycle through hot and cold water 3 – 4 times, contrasting between the two for even 2 cycles will be of great benefit.
Maya abdominal massage
This ancient practice has been adopted from our Mayan friends and can be very easily done in the shower. The intention of Maya Abdominal Massages is to restore proper positioning of the uterus and to improve the flow of blood, lymph, nerve impulses and energy (or chi). The technique is used to assist the body’s innate healing ability by removing obstacles to homeostasis (balance within).
The massage helps reposition the uterus and urogenital organs back to their normal positions and remove old adhesions. This repositioning allows toxins to be flushed from the body, nutrients to be delivered to tone tissue and balance hormones.
This practice is not only for women, men will be benefit from it as well. You can learn more benefits of Maya Abdominal Massage and how to here.
This self abdominal massage can be done in the shower. With the help and lather of soap, your hands glide effortlessly over your abdomen. It’s also another way to connect your mind to your body with the added bonus of major health benefits.
Do you have any healthy showering rituals to share? I’d love to hear them.